Holy Foot Fatigue, Batman! That's what I woulda said after my hike this afternoon.

I hit the trail a few hours ago, with about 2 hours of available light left in the sky. A gorgeously overcast day it was, with a wonderful just-below-freezing temperature that's perfect for a short hike like this one was. Everything is white everywhere the eye could see. Didn't take along a whole arsenal of music, just enough for part of the roundtrip. Sometimes out there it's just nice to have that time for some thinkin' without any musical distraction. Sometimes it's nice to just marvel at God's immensely amazing creation. I felt like doing some of that today and set out with just one short album of tunes.

And in new boots I did walk. My last pair I wore down as much as I could. If this was a snowless environment, I'd probably still be using them. The sole is split on each as is the heel. No wonder my socks often got wet. Not so with this new pair. So stiff they are compared to the super-high level of comfort of my previous pair. There's a long way to go before these'll be broken in... and I didn't even try to do it properly but then again, that requires soaking them in water and to walk in wet boots when it's this temperature, uhh, not so bright. I will have to break 'em in the old-fashioned way, just by walking in them... and that's gonna hurt my feet a little like they did today. Hurt's not really the right word. Some discomfort, sure, but what really happened was my feet seemed to get really tired about three of four times faster than they should have. After two hours I shouldn't have been wanting to collapse inside in front of the wood-burning stove. After two hours I should have been good to go for another 6 to 10 hours! Ahhh well, still a nice hike out there.

Christmas tunes for a snowy day...

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Christmas In The Country

[MCA, 1988]

White Christmas - George StraitI'll Be Home For Christmas - Reba McEntireThere's A New Kid In Town - The Oak Ridge BoysLet It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow - Lee GreenwoodChristmas At Our House - Barbara MandrellSanta Claus Is Coming To Town - George StraitO Holy Night - Reba McEntireThat's What I Like About Christmas - The Oak Ridge BoysChristmas To Christmas (Loving You) - Lee GreenwoodFrom Our House To Yours - Barbara Mandrell

While each of these artists is considered to be centrally rooted in the country music industry, the album doesn't have an overall country feel to it, though. I could still definitely see this on someone's stack of mostly-played Christmas CDs. One song in particular, O Holy Night by Reba McEntire, is just so beautiful. Overall, not a bad little collection of tunes.